CEOs in corporate communication: A research on Twitter use of the CEOs of Türkiye's most valuable brands

The concept of corporate communication focuses on the integrated realization of the information flow created by the organizations towards their goals and objectives. New media tools and internet tend to be preferred frequently with the transformation of digitalization that technological developments shed light on. Especially as a result of the development of the internet, social media, which is one of the digital channels, is at the center of human life today. In the context of the age we live in, social media platforms are seen as a part of communication processes and even as one of the most important channels. Channels such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are considered important channels used for communication today. Organizations reach their target audiences and stakeholders through social media platforms and receive feedback from them. Identity representation, which is considered as one of the most basic features of the concept of social media, occupies an important place in the mental universe of individuals. In this context, CEOs, (Chief Executive Officer) who act as a link between the board of directors and the executive board within the framework of organizations, whose communication skills are important, and who assume the responsibility of representation, are important for organizations with their involvement in social media. The purpose of this study is to analyse the Twitter usage of the CEOs of Türkiye's top 10 most valuable brands based on Brand Finance data and to evaluate the Twitter usage practices of the CEOs in the context of corporate communication. In line with the aforementioned purpose, 850 shares made by CEOs on Twitter between January-December 2021 were determined as analysis units and analyzed with quantitative content analysis. According to the results of the research, it was determined that Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Ekşi had the highest usage rate. During the process of the research, it was seen that Ford Otosan CEO Haydar Yenigün had the lowest usage rate. When the frequency of use of Twitter by CEOs is examined, it is found that 32.8% is very low. It has been seen that the most prominent theme category is the theme category that includes greetings, congratulations, wishes and condolences. While rational message appeal came to the fore in terms of message attractiveness, positive tone became prominent as message tone. Within the framework of the social presence strategy, it was determined that the interactive strategy was included in the posts at a rate of 49.9%. Keywords: Corporate Communication, Twitter, CEOs' Uses of Twitter, Social Presence Theory